Zomtober 2020: Week 2

Introduction

<== Week 1 is here

OK, it's Zomtober, it's another Sunday - I can do this.  It's no big deal.  Just put up pictures of another zombie vs survivor "duel", like I've done before.  OK?  Here we go, then...

Polly vs Prison Escape Zombie

This week's confrontation is between a young woman called "Polly" and a zombie who is possibly in prison uniform.  Did he escape from a nearby incarceration facility?  Perhaps; the broken sign over which he is stumbling would add weight to his idea.  Let's call him "prison escape zombie" (PEZ).

Polly is a classic example of the concept that there is no dress code during the zombie apocalypse.  All I'm doing to say about her costume is that it is (to my way of thinking) a very weird assortment of styles and colours.

So, are these her working clothes?  Did she choose to dress this way when leaving home in the morning?  Or were these the only items of apparel that she could find?  All these theories seem somewhat implausible and I'm not entirely sure that I want to know the answer.

Polly comes from one of Wargames Foundry's weirder packets in the hit-and-miss Street Violence range.  I'm happy enough to have one such model in my collection, but I don't think I want a whole load more "sluts with guns".

In contrast, PEZ is a fairly plain zombie, dressed in a ripped (more accurately, shredded) tee shirt with orange trousers and gym shoes.  He's moderately damaged, both on the face and the belly - but is still lurching along.  PEZ is a Studio Miniatures model.

So, who will win this duel?  Polly seems totally relaxed and confident, she has a potent gun and seems healthy, aware and fit.  Is this a slam dunk for her?  Can anything go wrong?  Does PEZ have a chance?  You decide...

Bonus Article

Some weeks ago, when I was contemplating how to tackle the Zomtober challenge, I thought that it would be nice to include a scatter terrain or objective piece with each week's entry.  Well, I failed completely to have anything ready for Week 1!  However, I had one large (70mm?) urban base left from my long-serving, assorted packet of Escenorama resin pieces.

I also had a packet of "corpses" from TT Combat, plus quite a few bits from various Wargames Factory zombie & survivor kits.  I decided that I could put these all together to build a pile-of-bodies model.  Note that several of the contributor models have been converted, mostly to reposition limbs.

If you think that this is somewhat macabre then I agree completely.  My only defence is that this is no more associated with real life than is any zombie movie or book.

So, for bonus points, what happened here?  It looks as if someone with a gun shot down several zombies, maybe because they were feasting on the fat man.  But one of the models (centre) has no obvious injuries.  Is he/she dead?  Indeed, is he/she a zombie or a human?

Final thought: maybe Polly is feeling confident because she knows that she can kill any number of zombies; she may have been the cause of this massacre!  Just like swatting flies...

Follow me for Week 3 ==>

Zomtober 2015 - Week 3

<--  Week 2 is this way

Introduction

Another Sunday, another Zomtober challenge entry.  Will the madness never stop?

Naw, it's all right really; I'm loving it!  I've probably painted more miniatures this month already than I did in the previous 3 months put together - and they're not all zombie-related either.  For Zomtober this week, we have an old mini that I've finally finished (after it had been on my workbench for what seems like years) as well as a brand new figure, built from start to finish in the last 10 days or so.

The Duel

Once again, I shall present a duel between a survivor and a zombie.  This time, the confrontation is between Father Murphy and Garden Party Zombie (hereafter "GPZ").

Father Murphy is an out-of-the-box build from the Wargames Factory "Apocalypse Survivors: The Men" kit.  I glued this model together many months ago and started the painting, but didn't get very far before I ran out of inspiration.  He seemed to be just another fairly bland, assault-gun-wielding, trenchcoat wearing action guy and that didn't excite me enough to complete the model.

As part of this Zomtober challenge, I looked at the figure again.  It suddenly came to me that a black shirt and a white dog collar would turn him into a priest.  Suddenly, the model had a completely different vibe!

GPZ is a "Zombie Vixen" (again, from Wargames Factory).  She's had a hat added from a Warlord Games set of Royalist Infantry, although I think it's sitting a little bit high on her head.  It seems that straw hats were all the rage for 17th century English peasants as well as for modern ladies...

Her base is made from a Basius II pad, though all of it apart from the fallen sign has been covered with flock.  The lettering on the sign is a home-made decal.

GPZ has been in the wars a bit; she has torn clothing, significant wounds to her leg and one arm is partly missing.  For all that, she is (was?) a tall, if somewhat skinny woman and probably has a certain amount of physical strength.

Who will win this encounter?  Father Murphy has obtained some heavy weaponry from somewhere, but does he know how to use it?  He's firing from the hip (never a good sign) and he seems to be aiming at her torso.  Whilst a burst from an M-16 will certainly chew up a zombie badly, it won't finish the job without a head shot.  Does he know what to do and is he capable of executing it?

On the other hand, GPZ looks somewhat surprised to find that she is indeed a zombie.  If she has any remnants of her previous humanity left then she might be too well bred to chow down on the vicar, at least at first.  How will this end?  I'm not sure...

Week 4 is this way -->

Cerberus, the hound of hell!

Introduction

In Greek and Roman myth, Cerberus (pronounced Kerberos) was the 3-headed hound who guarded the entrance to Hades or Hell.  His job was to prevent the dead from escaping and the living from entering.  The hound seems to have accomplished the former perfectly, but at least some of the greatest Greek heroes did manage to enter the underworld whilst alive and then leave again.  For example, Orpheus managed to pass Cerberus in both directions - possibly by soothing the beast with his music - and Heracles actually captured the beast as his 12th labour!

Cerberus was sibling to a number of other monsters including the Lernaean Hydra and the Chimera.  So I suppose you could say that he (she?) came from a somewhat dysfunctional family.  I don't suppose that anyone wanted them as neighbours!

Cerberus

 There are several manufacturers who make 28mm models of 3-headed dogs.  I compared all of the ones that I discovered; in the end I chose to buy the Foundry figure.  This model comes in 3 parts: the body & central head and the 2 other heads.  Interestingly the outer heads are identical parts, though I wouldn't have realised this had I not built the piece.  They did need a little filler to mate them seamlessly to the body, but nothing too bad.

 I was aiming for a colouring similar to a brindled mastiff.  This should have some quite visible, if poorly defined, stripes on the body.  However the wash I used was a bit darker than intended and the stripes aren't really visible.  Still, the black elements (ears, muzzle and eye sockets) help to give the hound a sinister appearance nevertheless.

Here's a size comparison with some humans.  In this case, they are 2 Wargames Factory Greeks and a Wargames Factory Numidian, all recently completed and added to my collection.  Note that the WF Greeks are quite tall and chunky figures; the Numidian is more average for a 28mm person.  Even so, the hound is clearly quite a monster: he's as big as a horse (if not quite so tall)!

Conclusion

Cerberus is a very useful monster who ought by rights to strike fear into the hearts of all bar the stoutest of heroes.  In a game it wouldn't be unreasonable to give him any number of attributes, depending on the scenario, such as fiery breath (maybe) or regeneration (he never seemed to die - or perhaps he's already undead?).

However, I think that all the ancient heroes were taking the wrong approach.  The easy and obvious way to defeat a creature like this is to show him 2 squirrels, throw them in opposite directions and just watch the hound tear itself apart in an attempt to chase both of the squirrels at once!

Zomtober 2014: The Leftovers

Introduction

As I'm sure you're all aware by now, I've been posting a series of model "duels" for Zomtober 2014.  Each duel consisted of one zombie and one survivor, often with matching elements on the bases to tie the pair together.  However, I've also used my enthusiasm for the month's challenge to finish off some other models that were lying around on my workbench.  Here are some of the figures that just didn't fit into a duel, perhaps because I didn't have a matching opponent or perhaps because I just couldn't see the story behind any such confrontation.

Zombie and Survivors

There's a single zombie here, plus 4 survivors of various types.  From the left, they're by Studio Miniatures, Wargames Factory (men), Hasslefree, Wargames Factory (women), Wargames Factory (men).  All of them are pretty much "out of the box"; there's very little conversion work on these models.

The first and the last figures are recent builds; they're on resin bases by Escenorama.  Note that the zombie isn't alone: there's an arm reaching out of the displaced manhole cover beneath him.  It's not clear whether this belongs to one more zombie, or whether the sewers are full of them!

What's my name?

 My last model for tonight is not completed, but I have a reason for showing him anyway.  He's a somewhat overweight survivor who is dressed for the beach with shorts, a tee shirt and flip-flops.  However even if he doesn't have much else going for him, this man is wielding a solid oar in both hands.  I don't think the zombies will find him an easy target!

I still need to paint his belt; I think all other details have been done, but I could have missed something.  Also, I need to give this chap a name.  So here's the deal: what should I call him?  Please make as many suggestions as you like and I'll choose the one I like best.  I'd prefer either a first name or a nickname rather than a surname (and nothing too obvious, such as Juan, please!)  You have until Sunday next!

Zomtober 2014 - Week 3

<-- Week 2 is this way

Introduction

It's another Sunday in October, so here's another entry in the Zomtober challenge.  Once more, I'm presenting a duel between a survivor and a zombie - or is he?

The Duel

Today's confrontation is between Rebecca and "I'm not a zombie" zombie (INAZZ).  She's a straight build from Wargames Factory's "Survivors: The Women" kit, while he is one of Studio Miniatures' plastic zombies.

It looks to me as if Rebecca has been taken by surprise: she was just about to step forwards over the kerb when the guy appeared on the road to her side.  Rebecca has dropped her mobile phone (it's on the man's base), has whipped out a couple of weapons from somewhere and is in the process of spinning round to confront her assailant.

But is INAZZ a zombie at all?  He doesn't look very healthy, but maybe he's just cold, hungry, disoriented, drunk or has a bad cold?  His tee shirt says that he isn't a zombie - but since when did you believe anything that was printed on a tee shirt?

Both of these models are decorated with home-made tee shirt decals and have been fixed to resin urban bases from Escenorama.  You can read my mini-review of these bases here.  I haven't yet written an article about the tee shirt decals, but I will do so really soon - I promise!  Just be patient for a little longer, please...

Conclusion

So, who will win this duel?  It looks to me as if Rebecca is about to land a flurry of blows from her meat cleaver and katana on the unresisting INAZZ.  If he's a zombie then that's well and good; he'll go down.  However if he's really another survivor then will she have the presence of mind to realise this and halt her attack?  Or is she just reacting instinctively, too startled to do anything other than lash out?

Week 4 is this way ==>

The zombie ballerina (part 1)

Introduction

Anyone who has followed my work for some time will know that I like to do a little bit of converting on some of my models.  This is especially so for plastic models such as Wargames Factory's Zombie Vixens, where the kit comes with 3 identical sprues. To some extent, the 3 copies of each body can be made unique by using different heads and arms on each, but even with this some of the poses are more "recognisable" than others.

The Lifeguard

To my mind, one of the models from the Zombie Vixens that is most in need of some "unique" treatment is the "lifeguard".  The body for this figure is stretching out with one arm whilst the other arm trails behind.  One leg is straight and extended, but the other is bent upwards.

Last year, I used the "lifeguard" body from my first sprue of Vixens to make - well, a lifeguard.  This was all done some time ago (see here) and I've been pondering what to do with the other copies of this model ever since.  Then it struck me...

The Ballerina

It occurred to me that it wouldn't take much effort to turn this model into a zombie ballerina, doing a pirouette.  Why would I want to do that, I can hear you asking?  Well, because I can?  As a test of my model-making skills?  Because my zombie collection is an equal opportunity horde which represents many different facets of society?  I did it for all of the above reasons, and probably more.

So, how did I go about making this conversion.  Firstly, I decided that the bent leg would need some repositioning.  I cut it at the hip, knee and ankle joints, though only the hip was cut all the way through.  The other joints only needed a little repositioning.

The leg was then glued back in the new location and the cuts were filled with Milliput.  That was the biggest part of the conversion and although I spent quite a lot of effort on filling and smoothing off the joints, I could have done a lot less.  After all, the skirt will hide much of the hip and knee anyway.

I found a zombie head with a ponytail, though that wasn't quite the look I wanted.  Instead, I cut off the ponytail and made a bun from a small blob of green stuff instead.  I suppose that I could have left the ponytail on the model; as long as the hair is pulled back then it's good either way (ballerinas tend to have their hair well under control, I believe).

Once arms and head were fitted, I based the model.  Note that I added a short length of wire to help strengthen the joint between figure and base; it seemed like an obvious weak point to me.

I've added a skirt made from tissue paper.  This was cut into a circle about the size of a 1 pence coin (OK, 20mm for those of you outside the UK), with a 5mm circular hole in the middle.  The skirt was slit, coated in tacky glue and then wrapped around the ballerina's waist.  It does have about 4 thin layers, though I'm not sure how much of this will be visible when the model is completed.

So far, so good.  If you're interested enough to see how she is painted then you'll need to wait for my next post.  That's because I haven't actually painted this model yet!  Still, it's Zomtober again and she will appear in my first week's offerings on Sunday next!

See here for the finished model -->

More finished 28mm survivors and zombies

Today's post will be another short one.  It's grey and raining (again!), I have a headache and I'm just not feeling up to much.  So, while I try to regain some energy, here are some more recently-finished figures for ATZ or similar games...

Josephine and Laura

First, here are a couple of variants of the "fat woman" body from Wargames Factory's female apocalypse survivors.  Josephine (left) is made up out-of-the-box, whereas Laura (right) has been converted by using different arms from another kit.  Laura's head is taken from the same sprue as the body, but it isn't one of the "official" head options for the fat body.  Still, it works well enough for me.

Ricky and Kimberly

Next up we have a couple of sporting types.  Ricky is wielding a cricket bat, apparently with a lot of passion.  On the other hand, Kimberly is completely emotionless as she crouches, poised and ready with a tennis racquet.  Both are Wargames Factory figures.

Tiana and Jimmy

An unlikely pair make up my last couple of survivors.  Tiana has been shopping and doesn't seem aware of any kind of danger, whereas Jimmy has found a sub-machine gun from somewhere.  I'm not sure he really knows how to use it, though.  Again, both of these figures are from Wargames Factory, though Tiana's shopping bags come from the female zombie kit rather than the female survivor set.

On to the zombies.  I decided that I wanted to have a few zombies with weapons to keep my players on their toes, so this pair are armed.  She is from Wargames Factory, whereas he is a Studio Miniatures model.  Both have weapon arms taken from one of the Survivors kits.

Finally, here's another Studio Miniatures model, though the bottle is from Black Cat Bases.  Is he a zombie?  Or is he just really hung over?  Would you shoot first or wait and see?
I'm not really happy with this guy's pose: the way the bottle is held looks odd to me.  However I have decided that I couldn't do much to fix it on this model.  Maybe some time I'll try the same concept again with a fresh figure and do it better.

That's all for now, folks!

The Crossing Patrol Man (28mm)

Introduction

As many of my regular readers will know, I tend to prefer regular civilians over heavily-armed rednecks for my games of All Thing Zombie.  I also draw a certain amount of inspiration from the scenes I see when just walking about my local town (though I will stress that any resemblance between my models and anyone I know is entirely accidental and unintentional).

Part-painted model in greatcoat (?), built entirely "out of the box"

When I examined the sprues from Wargames Factory's "Apocalypse Survivors: The Men" set, I discovered that there were 3 identical bodies in long trench-coats or greatcoats.  These are great for making models of tough guys from popular TV shows or movies, but aren't the sort of thing that ordinary people wear much.

Same model from rear, showing high collar and short cape

I'd already built one of these figures straight from the parts in the kit, so what could I do with the next one to make it a bit different?  Let's think...

The Crossing Patrol

At around 9am and again at 3pm near any primary school in the UK, crossing patrols are a common sight.  These are volunteers, often middle-aged, who halt the traffic and thus assist the children to cross roads.  They are often referred to as "lollipop men", though near us they are mostly women.

Right, then: this model uses the basic "greatcoat" body and legs from the "Men" kit.  Some modifications were necessary to the upper torso: I've removed the high collar and carved away the cape.  To replace this, I've added a hood made from green stuff.

For this figure, I've used the head with the peaked hat, straight from the box.  The left arm is from the "Men" kit as well, though I've rotated the hand by 90 degrees.

The right arm is from Gripping Beast's "Dark Age Warriors" kit (!); it originally held a spear.  I cut the spear away, drilled the hand out and added a sign made from brass rod tipped with a circle of plasticard.

Painted Up

Lollipop men and women wear a reflective coat and a hat or cap over regular (civilian) clothes.  I've given my guy dark trousers, a sweater with a patterned band around the chest and green wellies (very common in Helensburgh at this time of year).

The dayglo coat was painted in my normal mixture of yellow and silver (1:1); the darker reflective strips are steel.  A thin, dark-coloured wash brings out some of the detail.

To finish, I printed off a couple of images for the "stop" sign and fixed these onto the model.  Once the glue was dry, I touched up the edge with some red paint, gave him a name ("Sid") and sealed the model.  Done!

Zomtober 2013, Week 4

Week 3 is this way <--

It's the 4th and last week of Zomtober 2013!  Again, I've only just painted my figures in time, so they're a bit of a rushed job.  Still, better finished a bit crudely than never finished at all, right?

Today's duel is between a couple of rather small figures.  For the survivors, we have "Lucy", from Wargames Factory's "Survivors: The Women" kit.  She's just a little girl in her party clothes, but she's lifting up an enormous revolver.  It's got a telescopic sight on it, which seems pretty strange to me!

Facing her is "army zombie".  He's one of the models from Blue Moon Manufacturing's old "Things That Go Bump In The Night" range.  These figures tend to be a little smaller than many other 28mm figures, but even then "army zombie" is rather shorter than most of the other Blue Moon figures.  I'd say he was 26mm from base to eyes.

The Blue moon figures have substantial integral bases, so I've not rebased them (unlike all my other models).  This doesn't help with the height issue when the zombie is short to start with!

So, what's the story?  "Army zombie" is dressed in a rather old-fashioned uniform, so I don't think he's a member of today's military.  Perhaps this is set some 50 years ago, at the time of the Korean War?  Alternatively, maybe he's a WW2 re-enactor.  Given the height issue, I think it probable that he's just a teenager at that.

Lucy's gun is enormous and should easily be able to blow big holes in the zombie.  The real question is: can she lift it high enough and hold it steady enough to aim?  Even if she does shoot then I imagine the recoil will bowl her over, so she'd better make the first bullet count!

It's been fun doing Zomtober this year; I've certainly completed some models that would otherwise have languished for a long time on my workbench.  Thanks to the originators of the idea and to all those of you who have supported me and all the other participants throughout this period.

Zomtober 2013, Week 3

Week 2 is this way <--.

Well, this is now week 3 of Zomtober.  I'll confess that it nearly caught me out, since I've been concentrating on painting witch hunters for the last week.  Still, I had some appropriate models on my workbench that were largely completed, so I've finished them off quickly.

Today's duel is between "Emma" (codename "M") and "Romero zombie".  Emma is a rookie member of the secretive "Men in Blue" organisation, though obviously women are also recruited.

How do I know that Emma is a rookie?  Well, for starters, she's turned up for the apocalypse in totally unsuitable shoes.  High heels like this are really not very practical for fighting or running ("shoes to die for"?).
Secondly, she seems to have fired low: the zombie has wounds only in the belly and these will not incapacitate it.

The question is this: will Emma retain her composure enough to aim for the head (and will she be steady enough to achieve this)?  If so then her machine pistol will easily have enough fire-power to dispatch the zombie.  However, if she continues to try for the easier body shot then the zombie will only be knocked back and inconvenienced until her ammunition is exhausted!

Emma is from Wargames Factory's "The Women" survivors.  "Romero zombie" is a special edition figure from Studio Miniatures (and could in one sense be described as "patient zero"; the person who started the entire zombie plague).

Week 4 is here -->

Zomtober 2013, Week 2

Week 1's entry is here <--

Right, we're well into Zomtober 2013 now; this is the second week (see here if you don't know what Zomtober is).  Once again, I'm going to present a small duel between a survivor and a zombie.  So, without further ado, here they are:

"Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!"

Once in a while, any long-term model-maker comes across a figure that is just right.  So it was with "Joan", the survivor with the pipe bomb in her hand.  She's been built from Wargames Factory's "The Women" set, without any conversions or additions.  However, the moment I had selected the parts I wanted and had glued them together, I thought that I had something special.  I've tried to make the painting fit my vision of this survivor and overall I'm very pleased with the way she came out.

Facing her is a very skeletal zombie from Studio Miniatures.  This came as part of my Kickstarter reward a while ago; I think that he (she?) was created especially for that event and isn't generally available.

In my mind, he's a "smartie" zombie, or at least he's retained some level of threat instinct.  He's clearly a bit taken aback by the defiant attitude of the woman and is pausing to consider his next move.

So, who will win this duel?  If Joan can ram her pipe bomb into the zombie's exposed rib cage then it's all over.  However, he may be too cunning to let that happen!

Week 3's entry is here -->